Perlis State Park

FRIENDS!! 

     Over this course of this past weekend, the 12 of us headed to the remote Perlis State Park for Spelunking, Herping, and more biological shenanigans! Prior to heading out, I was very nervous for this particular tropical ecology field-trip because I heard about the possibility of Leeches. Anyone who knows me, knows that I hate bugs/insects ( I know, Malaysia has tons of bugs/insects). Yet, a big reason why I came on this program was to get out of my comfort zone.

     As we headed out Friday morning, we headed south to Perlis, Malaysia. Shortly after what seemed like a three hour bus ride, we arrived at Perlis State Park. After getting situated into our hostels, we had time to grab a bite to eat and began our weekend adventure! We set up a combination of bat/bird traps in hopes of catching different species of birds and bats. One trap in particular was my favorite - known as a harp trap! This trap is special in that it can lure insectivore bats that have ecological capabilities. These bats are very intelligent and are able to pick up wave signals in accordance to danger. Yet, these bats cannot detect the harp trap which is created to allude their echolocation abilities. Their echolocation abilities are a type of sonar that is used to detect prey and avoid close obstacles in the dark. They emit a 'shout' which then sends back a wavelength to bounce back when it hits an object.

     The next day when we checked our traps, we had caught a total of 5 bats and 1 bird! Our guide advised us that this was a lot, as he was not expecting us to catch that many! As we studied each species, I learned something new about each distinct species. All of them differ in genus in particular ways even though they all hail from the same family.

     Among the various outings, Spelunking in particular happened on Sunday morning! In case you were wondering, spelunking is also known as caving! To reach the cave, we trekked about 2 miles from our cabins to the entrance of the Gua Wang Burma One and Gua Wang Burma Two. As we approached the caves, I couldn't begin to contain my excitement, but also pure terror (I was scared out of my mind). We were heading into a dark unknown cave in the middle of Malaysia. In addition their was a total absence of light beyond the entrance (thus, the need for headlamps). Yet, we were also traveling somewhere that not many people (outside of Malaysia) have the privilege to go!

    The Gua Wang Burma caves are divided into two sections. Gua Wang Burma Satu (One) is far less challenging and more touristy - with rock formations. Gua Wang Burma Dua (Two) is both physically and mentally more challenging with its dark and narrow passages, including muddy tunnels, that force you to crawl/squeeze your way through to reach the water/rock formations in the inner part of the cave.

    Once we were finally in the cave, we descended down 3 flights of stairs to reach Gua Wang Burma Satu! The walk was magnificent, with amazing rock formations just about everywhere! Additionally, there was a plethora of bats chillin' on the walls and a vast number of species on the cave floors. I found it incredibly fascinating to know that much of the cave ground was made of built up bat feces! The first cave consisted of much infrastructure - it was ginormous! The next cave farther into the cave and it involved more strenuous physical movement as it involved us squeezing into tiny, tiny, tiny spaces (some people could not take part).

    Gua Wang Burma Dua was more of a mental challenge than a physical challenge! Prior to the trip, our cikgu (professors) warned us about the possibility of leeches within the water and I was freaking out! As we started out, we trekked down this steep rock formation to a rope that descended down to a deeper part of the cave. Next, we traveled a ways before beginning the tight squeezes into small holes and shortly after we reached the water aspect - this is when I began to freak out!  The entire time I was rushing through the water on all fours praying that I'd make it out without any leeches!

    In the end, all was good and I had a great time! I believe I speak for all of us Gusties when I say that Wang Burma Satu and Dua were AMAZING! It was an experience I will never forget. Everyday that I am in Malaysia, I am more and more excited about all that it has to offer. Some of my greatest memories are formulated in this distant, warming country!

Sending Love from Malaysia!


-Hales

Three of a Kind

Bat Wings

Pinnang Bitternut 

Our Group outside of Caves

Harp Trap!

Inside the Massive Caves

Nature Selfie!

Pycnonotus Bird :)

Cicada Shed

Salamander :)

Baby Crab!